Connor's Pick: “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck”

Updated: 8 months ago

I won’t lie, I saw this book was on the bestsellers list a couple months back, and purchased it purely because it said “f*#k” on the cover. I mean, how often does that happen? I figured the book had to be interesting, and, seeing as how I generally stick to books that deal human psychology, it was a perfect match.

“The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck” was surprisingly a lot more insightful that I thought it was going to be, and has in a way helped me in my own career and life already. Essentially it’s a self-help book for people that are looking to live a happier life. To me, the book boiled down to about three main points that really resonated with me. Two of the points were brought to my attention from the reading, and the other is one of my biggest pet peeves with America. The first point that Manson makes in his book is that you have to find something that you actually enjoy doing, if you want to live a happier life. The book is all about improving your quality of life and mental health. If you go to work everyday as an accountant, and then proceed to spend your day turning pencils into drumsticks performing drum solos for anyone that will listen, you probably won’t be as happy as you can be.

At the end of the day, no matter how much money you’re making, if you give an audible sigh every time work gets tossed on your desk, you aren’t that happy. Maybe you’re happy as you drive home in your new car to your big house, but the eight hours you put in everyday don’t make you happy and you will spend a lot of time at that job being unhappy, just so you can be happy for two days out of every seven. That really resonated with me, and I don’t know if you noticed but I recently switched careers and am now writing this column that you are reading, and haven’t sighed once.

The next major point Manson talks about is that life isn’t really about what you want. Everyone on earth wants a nice car, two vacation homes and millions of dollars. Literally, everyone wants that. What life is really about is what you are willing to sacrifice. Sure, everyone wants to be the successful lawyer with financial security, but are you will to sacrifice your friendships and personal relationships, that will undoubtedly crumble, if you work the 70 hours a week needed to become a top lawyer. Not only will this book help you organize your life and thoughts but also helps you think about what you look for in someone else and if your lifestyles are compatible. For me, it’s easier to justify what I want by what i’m willing to sacrifice, the thought process of it makes it harder for me to justify excuses, because when framed correctly it should look as if your fun is getting in the way of whatever is really important at the time. Manson’s last point, and my personal favorite, is that people need to stop caring so much about things that don’t involve them whatsoever.

This is a major concern in our country and it can be applied to almost any topic, but since im sports guy I’ll stick to the sports. Half of this county is currently up in arms at the idea that college athletes might start getting paid. Now, i’ll ignore the fact that these kids raise significant amounts of revenue and that there is clearly enough money to go around, and I will say this, WHY DO YOU CARE. I don’t understand the argument against the point, their main argument is “they get an education!” Ok, and….? If the athletes do end up getting paid it isn’t coming out of a single one of your pockets, so why do you feel outraged over it? Anyways, that’s neither here nor there. Clearly define what you love to do and what makes you happy and go after it. Realize that success isn’t about what you want, it’s about what you are willing to sacrifice, and in the words of Mark Manson, just stop giving a f*%k so much.